Chinese stocks fall amid liquor scandals

Chinese stocks struggled on Monday, mired by scandal-marred liquor shares but boosted by bullish weaponry-related sectors after the first jet landing on the country's aircraft carrier.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.49 percent, or 9.92 points, to 2,017.46 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,016.07, down 98.67 points, or 1.22 percent.

Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 63.9 billion yuan (10.2 billion U.S. dollars) from 71.43 billion yuan in the previous trading day.

A majority of shares suffered losses on Monday, with losers outnumbering gainers by 737 to 195 in Shanghai and by 1,273 to 212 in Shenzhen.

The ChiNext Index, mainly reflecting the performances of high-tech companies and those with high growth potential, suffered a 1.927-percent drop to 638.88 points on Monday.

The sector engaging in cloud-computing suffered the heaviest losses.

Losses swept the liquor sector, which has become tangled in an additives scandal. Jiugui Liquor, the subject of tests indicating excessive plasticizer content in its products, declined by the daily limit of 10 percent for the second consecutive trading day since it resumed trading last Friday.

But military-related sectors, including production of ships and jets, showed the way forward for the sluggish market.

Nearly all vessel construction-related stocks saw slight rises, while the majority of aviation enterprises enjoyed gains, after China recently conducted its first fighter jet landing on the country's aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.